Cloud
by belang
Summary: The world is not what it seems and Kirk is in trouble. Added a few bits on previously written Chapter 11. Chapter 12 added as an epilogue.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : **I do not own star Trek.

* * *

** Cloud**

"Jim."

A slender figure came blurrily into view. "Wake up, Jim," she whispered.

He recognized the voice immediately and felt a surge of relief. Jim groaned and pushed himself up slowly from his lying position. Head swimming with mild dizziness, he shut his eyes instantly.

"How long was I out, Uhura?" Jim rubbed his temples and blinked hard.

"Not that long. Are you feeling alright?" Uhura squeezed her captain's arm gently, worry written on her face.

Jim didn't reply, his blue eyes scanning the entire room.

_Wait a minute._

Even though his mind was still sluggish, the small living room was entirely familiar…

Jim looked at Uhura, eyes pleading for some answers.

"How the hell did we get to Iowa?"


	2. Chapter 2

Jim removed the soft red throw that was covering his lower half, put his feet down from the sofa and sat up straight. Uhura who was kneeling a minute ago stood up and sat beside him.

She woke up in a room upstairs in civilian clothing. The door to the room was left ajar and she heard a female voice talking on the phone, mentioning Jim's name and said that she's going to pick up somebody. Then, she heard her hung up and left the house.

Feeling that no one else was in the house, Uhura tiptoed down the stairs and went to the living room to find Jim sleeping peacefully on the couch.

Jim sighed; trying to process the scarce information he received and turned his head to face her.

"So you don't really know how we got here too?" Uhura shook her head.

"The first thing I did was to look for the communicator. But, it's gone. The phasers seemed to be missing too, captain."

Jim ran his right hand through his hair. Something was not right here.

_The last thing he remembered before passing out was Bones shouting his name and Uhura's to get away from something and then a flash of bright light consumed them and then nothing._

"You're wearing a bracelet, Jim." Uhura pointed to a silver bracelet on his right arm. They were both confused of what was happening that none had noticed it until now.

It looked suspiciously like a medical identification. His full name was engraved on it including his allergies and an emergency contact number. He recognized the number immediately. It was his mother's.


	3. Chapter 3

**Note : **Some homage to Star Trek TOS & 2009.

* * *

_ "Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."_

Kirk wasted no time investigating their current predicament. He explained to Uhura that as the lay out of the living room looked exactly similar to his home in Iowa, he decided that the best place for them to start looking for answers would perhaps be in all the bedrooms.

Kirk headed into his own bedroom and let Uhura investigated the others. She followed him initially; curiosity got the better of her just to have a glimpse of how her captain's room would look like.

His room was not what she expected. It was indeed looking very neat and tidy. A 21st century acoustic guitar stood at the end of his single bed. She stepped in for a moment and looked around. She was quite impressed with his various collection of old-fashion books and journals, organized systematically on a tall bookshelf. It seemed that Kirk read almost anything, from earth history to science subjects like engineering and medical journals to Shakespeare and Arthur Rimbaud.

"So it's true. You are indeed a stack of books with legs."

Kirk who was just starting to rummage through his drawers turned and smirked. "Pike thought that I used to be the only genius-level repeat offender in the Midwest." Uhura smiled.

"Keep an eye on any incoming, okay. I suspected that the woman you heard initially would return soon. I'm just going to play along when she comes."

She nodded.

Fifteen minutes later, they both ran into each other in the hallway. "You won't believe what I found!" They spoke simultaneously.

"Apparently, in this world, I'm not really what McCoy labeled a 'four-oh'." Jim showed Uhura a few bottles of multicolored prescription pills bearing his name.

Uhura gave Kirk the '_what the hell' _expression and then tugged him towards the second room.

The room was supposed to be Sam's but instead of Sam's room as Kirk remembered, it was decorated in a more girlish flair. There were picture frames on the dressing tables and two of them, which looked like graduation photos caught his eyes. They were of him and Uhura with his mom and his dad, his supposable dead father, George Kirk, displaying some grey hair and a few wrinkles but still maintaining his handsome features.

Uhura showed him some high school and college IDs that she found, her pictures with Samantha N. Kirk written on them. He took the IDs from her and stared disbelievingly. Before he could come up with the next plan of action, the front door downstairs was opened and he heard two familiar voices.

"Jim, we're home, sweety!"

"Sam? Sam, is your brother upstairs with you? Come down for lunch, kids."

Jim couldn't imagine hearing the strong male voice again, the voice that he heard over and over again through the tragic last twelve minutes of his life. The man who he only knew via pictures and holovids was now standing downstairs.

_This is crazy!_

"Captain, we should go down now and play along." It was more like a statement rather than an instruction. Kirk looked at Uhura and tried to focus.

"Will you be ok, Jim?" Uhura squeezed Kirk's hand gently, understanding the height of confusion he's in. She identified those voices too and could feel Kirk's emotional despair.

Kirk inhaled deeply and licked his lips. " I'm alright. Let's go."

* * *

Dinner was surprisingly quiet. The only conversation currently were, 'how was your day, dear?', 'oh, it's fine.' 'Please pass the salt' or 'would you like more salads?' between Winona and George.

Kirk pretended to enjoy the home cooked dinner his 'mother' had made but he could not help staring at his 'father', who was sitting opposite him. He watched the way he ate, the way he smiled to his mother, the way he talked. His mother was right. Jim looked and sounded just like George.

George Kirk noticed that his son was behaving quite peculiar today. He smiled and said, "You okay, Jimmy? You look like you saw a ghost."

_Damn right, I did._

"I'm…I'm fine, dad," he stammered.

"Are you sure you're okay, sweety? You looked really tired before you slept on the couch when I left this morning." Winona looked worried. She pressed her hand onto Jim's.

"I'm okay, mom."

"No dizziness or headache?" she voiced her concern.

_Yes. Yes, I did._

"No, not at all. I'm fine, honestly," he lied.

"Let me know if you kids need anything. I'm going to get some coffee. Tea or coffee, George?"

"The usual, hun. Thanks."

Five minutes later Winona returned to the dinner table. She poured some tea into George's cup and sat down. She also took some pills from a bottle, put them on a small plate and passed it to Jim.

"Don't forget to take your pills, Jimmy," she said kindly.

He took the pills in his hand slowly, looked at Uhura and swallowed them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Note : **Thanks for the alerts and reviews so far.

* * *

The small 'family' gathered in the living room after lunch. George Kirk sat on an old armchair, face hidden behind a local newspaper. He chuckled occasionally.

"What's so funny?" Winona Kirk cut a slice of blueberry cake and handed it to her husband.

"Oh, some silly jokes about a Starfleet officer, a doctor and few light bulbs," he winked. Even Uhura smiled at the mention of that. Everybody in Starfleet knew the joke.

_Bones hated it, though. _Kirk grinned.

Winona beamed. "We should throw Jimmy a party before he leaves for the Starfleet academy, George. "

"Sure, we'll invite some of our close friends and Sam can invite hers. Let's do a two in one celebration. You don't mind us throwing you a twentieth birthday bash, do you, Jim?"

"God, I hope he's not too old for that!" Winona teased.

"He's not twen…" Uhura quipped but Jim signaled her to shut up.

"Err…yeah, sure!" Uhura rolled her eyes.

"Can I invite a few close friends? You know, like Spock, Leonard, Chekov, Scotty and Sulu. You know them, right?" Jim pretended to count his fingers and acting as if he was trying to remember whom else to invite. Uhura instantly knew where Jim was heading with the question.

"Why, honey, this is the first time you've mention them to us. Spock? Is he a Vulcan?" Jim just nodded. He made an eye contact with Uhura and blinked twice. He hoped that she got the hint to follow his lead.

He stood up, stretched his long arms and stifled a yawn. "Can I go out for a while to get some fresh air?"

He looked at his mother and grinned."That was such a good lunch and you're a great cook, mum but I am supposed to be fit and lean at Starfleet. You know that, right?" Jim hoped flattery could bring him somewhere. He gave Winona a quick peck on her cheek.

"Eat as much as you can now, James T. Kirk. You're not getting any of these food at the academy and you'll be begging me for them." She pinched his nose.

"Come back before dinner, okay."

Sam, you're coming?" Without hesitating, Uhura agreed.

Jim was trying his luck again. "Dad, you don't mind me taking your Corvette for a ride, do you?"

George put his newspaper down, took his reading glasses off and sighed." Just be careful with her, son. Sam, will you make sure your brother is not up to some crazy antics again?" He threw Jim the keys.

He caught them and said," Who says I'm driving." He passed the keys to an astonished Uhura and smiled at his 'parents'.

Jim was glad they were out of the house. He wasn't feeling well. He honestly needed some fresh air. His head hurt. He slid his hand into his pocket and took out the colorful tablets Winona gave him earlier.

He threw them away.

* * *

They drove the convertible for about fifteen minutes along Iowa's long, quiet road. Jim remained silent. He would have never thought to ride the car again. He brushed his hands on the leather seat unconsciously and felt the wind blowing and the sun shining. He closed his eyes.

_He was around eleven. He loathed his alcoholic and verbally abusive stepfather, Frank. He had wonder why his Starfleet officer mother went off world too frequent; leaving him with the disparaging man. He hated his life. The final stroll came when Frank had ordered him to wash his late father's vintage 1965 Chevrolet Corvette and Sam had abandoned him on the very same day._

_He had found the keys to the car and decided to drive off through the road. He had been chased by a police officer and ultimately plunged the car into a quarry. If he hadn't jumped out of the car fast…_

"_Hey, are you out of your mind? That car's an antique. You think you can get away with this just 'cause your mother's off-planet? You get your ass back home, now! You live in my house, buddy. You live in my house and that's my car. You get one scratch on that car and I'm going to whip your a**!" Frank's scream echoed in his mind._

He was back to reality when the car stopped.

"I don't know where we're going, Jim." Uhura sighed.

_I don't feel so good._

"I don't feel so good." Jim groaned. He didn't mean to say it out loud.

Uhura turned and looked at him. "You look flushed, Jim." She put her hand on his forehead. It felt warm. He pushed her hand away. "I'm fine."

Jim was quick to change topic. He stood up straighter and tried to concentrate, hard. _Whatever it is, it will go away. _He convinced himself.

"Do you remember the white light on our ship, Uhura?"

"Yes. I recalled McCoy shouting my name and yours to get away from it at the bridge."

"Did you received any kind of subspace frequency before we were consumed by it?

"No. There was no message intercepted. The last message was from the cargo vessel Alliance and you have been informed about it forty eight hours ago."

Jim frowned and nodded. "Yes."

"Spock didn't mention anything on the sensors too. Even the deflectors were negative.

"Unless somebody or something is shielding them."Jim cut in.

"Well, at the moment we know the rest of the bridge crews are probably not affected since my parents didn't recognize any of the names. But that's also probably because all these events are happening prior to me joining the academy. The question is, why just you and me?"

"And why we're floating in _your_ world, Jim?" Uhura added.


	5. Chapter 5

**Note: **Thanks again to readers out there who had 'alerted', reviewed & fav.

* * *

Uhura leaned against the red Corvette, arms folded, her right foot making small circular motions on the dusty ground. She sighed and looked up to the yellow sky, wondering if the majestic Enterprise could suddenly appear from the clouds and beamed them back to the ship.

The evening breeze felt a bit chilly against her light cotton blouse and dark pants. She folded her arms tighter, goose bumps tickling her lean arms.

They'd searched the Corvette from front and back, inside and out, desperate to find any other clues. They only found George and Winona's expired driving license, for some reason still kept inside the sun visor's slipcase. The main information that they got from it was that Jim's 'parents' had retired from Starfleet a few years ago.

They drove to Riverside Shipyard, where the Enterprise was supposed to be under construction, built in Iowa in honor of George Kirk's sacrifice on USS Kelvin. They hoped to find any Starfleet crews that might know them, giving access to a communicator or something. But Jim was right to deduce that they would not find anything there, since his dad was alive. Instead, the shipyard would have likely been built in San Francisco, as Spock Prime's timeline.

Even the bar near Riverside did not exist.

Jim and Uhura also dialed every single phone number of their friends and family that they could remember with the Nokia phone in the car, unfortunately the only voice message that they heard was,'_ the number you have dialed is not in service. Please try again.' _

The only number that worked was the one engraved on Jim's silver bracelet and they still hadn't a clue what it's for. Jim informed Uhura that he could not remember wearing one in his childhood.

Frustrated and drained, they parked the car at a roadside. Uhura glanced at Jim who was clearly looking more exhausted than before. Even though Uhura could sense that her captain was in some kind of pain as he pinched the bridge of his nose a couple of times and winced, she did not ask anything, knowing how stubborn Jim could be.

As if reading Uhura's mind telepathically, Jim spoke softly, " I don't know what's wrong with me Uhura but I can assure you that it's not as bad as it seems."

He licked his dry lips and continued," Whatever pill she gave me this afternoon, I didn't actually take it. I guess Bones is the only one who can force me to take tablets." He gave Uhura his infamous lopsided grin.

"I'm just worried about you, Captain. If something happened to you, Dr. McCoy will never forgive me."

"You know what." Jim turned and stared at her unblinking." I bet you that right now, in a galaxy far, far away…"Jim waved his right arm melodramatically…"Bones is pestering Spock or bickering with him for letting us vanished from the ship."

They chuckled.

Uhura got out of the car and stretched her long legs, letting Jim took his time to give further instruction. Jim just sat in the car, staring at the dark sky decorated with twinkling stars.

Ten minutes later, Jim called out, "It's getting late, Uhura. Let's just turn back. We did promise Winona that we'd be in for dinner. We'll figure out after a great meal and a good rest." Jim smirked, trying to lighten the mood, although he himself was unsure of their fate.


	6. Chapter 6

**Note: **This is an ongoing story and I'm writing it bit by bit. Thanks again for reviews. Virtual cookies for you, folks. Again, thanks for the continuing supply of alerts & fav. They kept me going too!

* * *

The sound of clattering pots and pans and a burst of a loud, jovial laughter erupted from the Kirk's large country styled kitchen. George shook his head, one hand on his tummy, trying to take a breath. It had been a while since the family gathered together and it had been a while since he had a good guffaw.

Winona pursed her lips, stifling a cackle, body shaking almost uncontrollably.

She put her hands up as if to say '_I surrender!'_ Uhura, who's usually imperturbable, was not so composed. She laughed so hard that she had to pull a chair and sat down.

"C'mon, Jim. Let me help you out." Kirk senior pulled the younger man up and gave him a kitchen towel.

Jim was red in the face but he too was chuckling. "Sorry for the mess, dad." He blushed and wiped his corn flour covered face.

"Well, apologize to your mum, son. This whole sacred area…" George extended his arms and turned around to exaggerate his point…"belongs to her. You're probably not allowed into her territory again, you know." He winked at Winona and ruffled Jim's sandy blonde hair, now mixed with dust of flour.

"So that's where it was. I was looking for my corn flour for days! You got some explanation to do, George Kirk. Now gentlemen. Out of my kitchen. Shoo!"

Winona made a hand gesture and pretended to look annoyed and pushed Kirk junior and senior out of the kitchen.

The men continued laughing. George put an arm around Jim's shoulders and they walked away.

Winona looked at Uhura in disbelieved," Men!"

Uhura just smiled and was back on helping Winona to make stew for dinner. She figured that the mental image of her brash and audacious young captain in a Tom Petty's t-shirt and jeans, splattered with corn flour from head to toe would never leave her mind. She snorted.

* * *

Dinnertime was not as quiet as lunch. They all talked and laughed, sharing stories and jokes and discussing intellectual subjects with ease. Jim was actually enjoying himself in this alternate world, spending precious time with his mother, meeting and getting to know his famous father. He thought that for a mere second, he didn't want to return to his ship. For a moment, his subconscious mind whispered to him nimbly to stay here forever, with his loving and caring parents. Forget about the ship. Forget about Bones or Pike and Spock or all of his crews. Forget about his duty and responsibility. Forget about his damn world!

Jim toyed with his food. He sipped some fresh orange juice and swallowed slowly.

_Get a grip, Jim! _He reminded himself. He was lost in his thoughts again when he heard of Uhura's laughter; her small-framed torso shook a little and her shoulder touched his briefly. She was listening to George's jokes and Winona elaborated, eyes twinkling.

He loved the idea of Uhura as his sister. They seemed to be working closer and getting to know each other better since being trapped in this world. He knew that he had gained Uhura's loyalty and respect for him after the Narada incident but there's a soft side of Uhura towards him now that he never had the chance to experience before.

Jim stopped eating and put his fork down slowly. He stared at his blue-eyed father and then at his beautiful, blond haired mother.

_They're not real…God, They're not!_

_

* * *

_

Uhura wasn't surprise that she had a wonderful time with the Kirk's at dinner. They reminded her of her parents, smart and articulated but also gentle and loving.

She was helping Winona washing up the dishes. Jim was being his charming self, helping to carry the dishes to the kitchen and cleaning the table and later mopping the kitchen floor where the unfortunate corn flour spillage occurred.

Winona was standing beside her, back in her red polka dot apron, wiping the plates dry while humming an out of tune melody.

"Mum?" Uhura didn't even feel weird calling her that.

Winona put a small, white plate down, turned and smiled," Yes, dear?"

"Does Jim has to wear that bracelet forever?" Uhura pried.

Her chirpy mood suddenly disappear, Winona furrowed her brows and continue wiping the plates. "You know he has to, Sam,"she said briskly.

Uhura felt that she had touched her nerves but kept on prying. "Why? Is he still sick?"

This time, Winona put the wiping cloth down. She looked to the left where Jim was standing at the end of the kitchen, putting the pots and pans back into a cabinet with a clink clanck. Her green eyes welled up with tears and she quickly wiped them.

"I'm sorry. It happens every time. Your dad thinks that I'm too emotional." She rambled and gave a soft, nervous laugh.

"Does he still need it, mum?" Uhura was not backing away, hoping for some clear answer.

"You were too young to remember, Sam. Your brother was such a sickly child. I thought that we're going to lose him…I had that thought so many times…" Her tears was welling up again," that I sometimes wish that God should just put him to sleep to end his suffering."

Uhura gaped, speechless, wondering if this was just an alternate reality childhood history or a real one.

Winona continued," He's well now, as long as he's taking his meds." Uhura squeezed Winona's arm gently with her soap-covered hand.

"Your dad thinks that he doesn't need the bracelet anymore, but I do. Remember what the doctor said Sam? It could hit him again, anytime."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"It's not your fault. I'm glad you're part of the family, Sam. Just watch your brother for me, will you? " Winona gave Uhura a motherly hug. She picked up the plates and headed to a brown cabinet.

Before she left, she said," He studies too much sometimes and forgets to eat. The astrophysics major at the academy can be quite demanding, even for a genius like him."

"He's not in the command track," Uhura stated softly. She needed to speak to Jim tonight.


	7. Chapter 7

**Note: **I'm hoping to hear what you've thought of the story so far.

* * *

"Checkmate!"

"Ah. Give your poor, old father a break, Jim. How did you become so smart?"

Jim grinned like a schoolboy. "Next game? We've only played ten."

"Let's take a rain check, son. You totally wiped me out. Phew!" George rubbed imaginary sweat from his forehead. Jim chuckled.

He patted his son's shoulder. "That was the fastest chess win I've seen."

"Well, you should have seen my friend Spock, plays." Jim snapped his fingers. "Just like that and you're done."

"Amazing."

"He played a very irritating game of chess but he's not unbeatable."

"You beat the Vulcan?"

"Occasionally."

Kirk picked up the chess pieces one by one and kept them. A king and a queen fell onto the wooden floor and rolled away and he quickly grabbed them before they fell down the steps.

He sat back on the chair and closed the chess sets.

"How?"

"I'm getting quite good at defying Spock's logic on the game," he whispered conspiringly as if he was revealing Starfleet's top-secret move.

George snorted.

Jim stretched his arms and turned to George. " That's how I won."

"Practice. i just need more practice."

"You're a fighter, Jim. You never give up," George expressed, remembering how strong Jim had fought with his childhood illness.

"It's in the gene."

Kirk senior smiled and took a sip of his coffee.

Jim rubbed his arms a few times, tugging the soft woolen blanket tighter around his body, protecting him against a mild cold breeze that passed by briefly. They both sat comfortably on Winona's antique rocking chairs at the porch of the farmhouse. A very small, round table stood between them with a narrow drawer to keep the three-dimensional mini chess set.

Jim stared at the dark sky momentarily and inhaled deeply. He rocked his chair gently for a minute and then stopped.

"Dad?"

"Hmm?" George turned.

"I…" Jim paused. "I just want you to know that I love you very much."

"I know, Jim."

"I wish…I wish that you're always there for me, for mum and for Sam." He paused again.

_I wished that you were alive and mum would be happy and Sam wouldn't run away and Frank's not in my life._

"I will be, son."

_But I knew you had chosen the right decision at that time on the Kelvin. I wouldn't be here if it's not for you. I'm proud of you._

"I'm proud of you, dad," he said softly.

_For your bravery and sacrifice that you made for mum and me and for saving the lives of hundreds of crews._

George grasped Jim's hand firmly and looked deep into his son's blue eyes.

"I'm proud of you too, son and I will always, always love you, mum and Sam. Remember that, Jim."

He will always remember.

_

* * *

_

Jim woke up with another dull, throbbing headache. He groaned, blinking his eyes in the dark. He was lying flat on his back, feeling an intense heat burning through his body. A trickle of sweat ran along his temple.

_Shit._

"Lights…" he cleared his throat. " Lights thirty percent." His voice was hoarse and low.

He rose up slowly and painfully and sat at the edge of his bed. The room seemed to be spinning around him for a minute. He opened and shut his eyes a few times, hoping for it to go away. A wave of nausea threatened him to gag.

_This sucks._

He just sat there until the vertigo finally stopped, covering his face with his hands for a moment and then sighed. For the last five hours, his annoying symptoms seemed to visit him more and more intensely. He wondered if he should just pop those damned pills into his system.

He needed to find out what the hell was happening to him. He closed his eyes momentarily, his sluggish mind trying to recall the last twenty-four hour event since being transported on this alternate world, in case he had missed anything.

He tried hard, screwing up his eyes tightly, fingers rubbing his temples in circular motions, clockwise and anticlockwise. He couldn't recall much, his lethargic mind screaming for him to rest.

He lay down on the bed again and rested his head on the pillows, exhausted. It didn't take him long before falling into a dreamless slumber again.

* * *

Breakfast was quick as George and Winona were going to a farmer's market to look for fresh produce. Jim and Uhura declined to go, noting that at least they have a good few hours in the house on their own. They both felt quite guilty, lying to the nice couple, but at the end of the day, they needed to figure out a way to return back to their own world.

Before she left, Winona informed them that she would return as early as possible, promising Uhura that she's going to bake her famous chocolate chip cookies before she went back to the academy. She kissed them goodbye on the cheek and hurriedly walked out of the door when the Corvette honked a few times.

Uhura closed the front door and watched the car disappeared and then turned to face Jim.

"I spoke to Winona last night…" and she explained the stories that Winona had told her and how she was distraught and all.

Kirk listened attentively and then replied," I'm not surprise that there is another different event that had occurred here. It's like an alternate world. I was never sick in my life, Uhura."

_I was in Tarsus but that was a different story._

They started searching downstairs, from the living room to the study and from the dining room to the kitchen. Jim even applied his computer hacking and deprogramming skills but unfortunately still didn't seem to be fruitful. The only info available from the news was things that they already had figured out; all the events regarding The Federation, Starfleet or the construction of the Enterprise in San Francisco. Two hours later, they were still rummaging through patiently and still couldn't find anything extraordinary.

Jim had a gut feeling that there was something really fishy about this.

They were back in Jim's room a moment later. Uhura sat on his bed quietly. Jim just stood near his half opened window with his arms folded. His face blanked, as if he was lost in his own thoughts. The morning sunrays peeked through the curtains.

"Do you remember the time when you were flirting with me in the bar at Riverside, Jim?" Uhura spoke, breaking their silence.

Slightly embarrassed, Jim replied, "Excuse me, Lieutenant?"

"I thought that you were…rather dashing" Uhura said, slightly out of character. Jim smirked. He was going to retort with a sarcastic remark, something about Cupcake and Spock and a nerve pinch, but he decided not to and just looked at Uhura and scoffed.

"But at the same time, you were arrogant and disrespectful and later on, when you'd provoked Spock on the ship when his mother had just died..." There was some sadness in her tone.

"Look, Uhura. I'm sorry…"

"No." she interjected.

"I'm the one who should say sorry, Jim. Spock told me everything and I was wrong. i was wrong about you. I've wanted to say this for the last six months but I didn't have the chance."

"Uhura, please..."

"I'm sorry, Jim."

He looked at her. "It's okay."

He was going to tell her that it didn't matter and she had been performing admirably as his communication officer since he was appointed as a captain when a surge of intense abdominal pain hit him hard. He clutched his central abdomen automatically and collapsed on his back with a thud.

"Jim!"

He writhed painfully and moaned. The pain shot through to the back and spontaneously radiated through his body, sending shockwaves after shockwaves of pure agony. He coughed violently and gasped for air as he felt like somebody had just crushed his windpipe suddenly. His vision starting to blur and Uhura's frantic scream of his name seemed to grow softer and softer. Before he succumbed to darkness, he whispered to Uhura weakly to call Winona and then he saw nothing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Note: **It turns out that my free time is running away from me. Last week was a blast because I was able to ponder, write, edit, ponder, scratch head, write and update in a jiffy. This week, not so much but I will try! They may be shortly written updates but I sincerely hope it will suffice. I hate to leave a story months before it's finish.

Thanks again for reviewing and feel free to supply your opinion. It's great that some of ye detected mild error and quickly informed me. The product of a 3 am writing can involved certain unfortunate mistakes so I apologized.

Err...a lovely reader enquired about why on earth I wrote that Jim wore a Tom Petty t-shirt in one of the chapters. I informed him that one fine yet boring day, I was shown a pic of Pine on the net, wearing a Tom Petty t-shirt. I found that picture of him unmistakably very 'adorkable' (no offense Tom Petty), so I thought, heck, why not wrote him wearing that.

Thanks again for new 'alerters' and if you've spare time, tell me what you think of the story so far. Okay...you may proceed to read now. I'm going to bed. :)

* * *

_Previously on USS Enterprise NCC-1701…_

"Jim, Nyota, look out!"

"Jim!"

"Nyota!"

Dr. McCoy and Spock yelled the two different names at the same time.

They were too late. The glimmering soft light that hovered gracefully above the ship's view screen and later floated around the navigation consoles unexpectedly turned fiery bright and whooshed toward Starfleet's youngest captain.

It exerted an unknown force, pushing a shock Captain James T. Kirk hard to the ground and circled him. Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, an outstanding Communication Officer, who was the nearest to the captain, moved quickly to help him but upon touching his shoulder, she too was consumed by the light. It gave a strong, pulsating glow around their bodies, cocooning them possessively.

It happened so fast that she could barely hear the frantic voice of Dr. Leonard McCoy, the ship's new Chief Medical Officer, the captain's best friend, shouting loudly at them to get away from the light. She tried to move her limbs but failed as if they're being controlled by another mind, another mind that wanted her and Kirk to stay in the light.

The entity then twirled madly around them at a speed of light, making an eerie, whistling noise and within seconds, it disappeared instantaneously, almost like when it magically appeared aboard Enterprise's bridge minutes ago.

Unfortunately, it had vanished together with the captain and his brave, young, female officer.

In the cold, dark space surrounding the USS Enterprise, a cloud of suspended particles emerged and circled around the huge ship, gradually cocooning it like the glowing light previously. It grew larger and larger and looked like a huge smoke bursting out of a chimney. It spread above the sensor dome atop the bridge and flowed towards the bridge's view screen.

Chekov, a seventeen-year-old certified prodigy and the ship's navigation officer and Sulu, the talented swordsman who is the skillful pilot watched the incoming cloud with awe and terror, mouth opened.

From the space, it looked like the ship was totally engulfed by a white, cumulus cloud. It contacted the ship's body. The soft touch was enough to send the ship into a mild tremor. The bridge felt a temporary and swift shake, almost like a faint seismic wave.

It took Spock, the logical First Officer of the ship about four point two seconds to recover before he barked orders around the bridge.

He quickly took over the captain's chair and press a few buttons near the armrest.

"Red alert! Shield's up!"

"Aye, sir!"

"Shield's up, one hundred percent."

"Damage report."

Chekov's fingers danced on his flickering touch screen consoles. He waited for a moment and then turned to Spock. "None, Commander," he said, surprised but very relieved.

"Power is one hundred percent. All weapons are online," said the chief engineer over the comm. He was well known for his superior technical and engineering accomplishment and was totally head over heels with the Enterprise. Jim called him Scotty.

"What on earth is happening?" McCoy asked, eyes wide. He couldn't believe that he had just lost two of his friends in a blink of an eye and now the ship and the crews were in trouble.

"I do not know." Spock answered matter of factly.

He couldn't possibly figure a logical explanation yet on how two separate entities had suddenly showed up out of the blue, engulfing the Enterprise but not harming it and why they took away his bold captain and his t'hy'la.

* * *

Jim's awareness returned slowly but partial as he felt easier to breath and the agonizing pain slightly reduced. He gradually cracked open his heavy eyelids. Unfortunately, his vision was still very blurry but he could sense that he was on a moving trolley and an oxygen mask covering his flushed and sweaty face.

He could hear faint voices above him. Semi-conscious, he was unable to comprehend them properly. Words like 'relapsed, infiltrated, bleeding and DIC' came to his muffled hearing.

He listened as heavy footsteps that followed beside him got louder and louder as the trolley moved faster and faster. His useless, blurred vision now morphed into dots of black and before losing his consciousness again; he was surprisingly able to recognize a female distressed voice shouting, _"We're losing him!"_

**_To be continued..._**


	9. Chapter 9

_ Where Enterprise's in deep trouble and Captain James T. Kirk fighting for his life..._

_

* * *

_

A wave of a strong electric current that shot through his chest and rippled through his long and lean body jolted him hard.

Jim saw the flat line on the cardiac monitor across him gradually changed into a faint wave. It became stronger and stronger as seconds passed, accompanied by a continuous, rhythmic beeping sound. The on and off hissing of the respirator machine, pumping precious supply of oxygen into his lungs followed softly.

He discovered a look of relief on each member of the medical staffs that surrounded his bed especially on a beautiful and slender staff nurse that he straight away knew.

"_Chapel! Chapel, it's me, Jim!" _he called out as loud as he can but frustratingly,no sound came out from him.

She turned to the right, heading to a nearby comm., unblocking a figure lying on the hospital bed.

Nurse Chapel strode passed him, _no wait,_ through him.

_What the f**k!_

He automatically jumped backward, rubbed his chest up and down and stared at Chapel disbelievingly. Chapel on the other hand was demonstrating total calmness, after sending information through the comm., she took a thin folder clipped on a small medical trolley and continued charting her nursing notes as if nothing wrong had happened. Jim saw that her eyes were red and wet, evidence of a tear track could be seen on her oval face.

Chapel continued doing her job, intermittently keying in updates on a data pad. Another staff nurse cleared a medical tray near her, glad that it's over. It took the team consisting of an oncologist, two anesthetists and two ICU nurses' nearly twenty minutes to resuscitate the dying son of a respected ex-Starfleet officer.

Jim was beyond shock and was about to call out her name again when he saw the young man's face resting on the bed.

_Oh, God! _

_F**k sh*t! _

_Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!_

James T. Kirk was well known to be a very eloquent and an articulate Starfleet officer but seeing a face that was unmistakably similar to him lying still on a white sheet did no justice to the proficiency of his English language.

He stood at the bedside as some of the medical staffs left the room, leaving just Chapel and a tired looking doctor whom Jim also recognized called M'Benga.

His eyes traced the wires upon wires and tubes that ran along his limbs and body and winced at the respirator in his mouth. His face was deathly pale and clammy, long lashes clearly visible with his eyes closely shut.

His body was only covered with a thin, hospital blanket from waist below. The exposed chest showed a small sign of bruising midsternal. Other minor bruises could also be seen on his arms near the cubital fossa and the extensor surface of his left hand where the medical staffs took his blood and inserted a tiny cannula.

Dr. M'Benga whispered something to Nurse Chapel and left the room. Chapel approached the supine figure and pulled the blanket higher then tucking it gently. She brushed his sandy blonde hair tenderly.

Having known James Kirk for the last ten years did not make her job easy. She knew that her parents would feel the same way too, being the Kirk's close family friends.

She looked at him and said in a soft, low voice that Jim had to focus to hear it, "I'm so sorry, James." She gave him one last glance, kissed his forehead and left.

* * *

Probably, for the first time in his life, Jim panicked.

"_Sorry? Sorry, for what?" The blood pressure is normal. The heart tracing is in sinus rhythm, pulses and respiratory rate and oxygen saturation are steady and strong. Why are you sorry?"_ He looked at the monitor standing opposite him.

Spending a lot of time with Bones at the academy and learning some of the medical instruments' functions indirectly had provided Jim with some skills of vital signs interpretation.

He was extremely confused at the moment. If they've managed to resuscitate him and brought him out of medical danger, why the hell was he situated in two places?

It took him two seconds to answer his own question. He closed his opened mouth with his hand.

_God, I'm in a coma…_

_

* * *

_

James T. Kirk slumped tiredly on a visitor chair beside his bed. The light was reduced to a dim twenty-five percent by Chapel, who looked closely at the monitors before she went.

For roughly forty-eight hours, his life had been turned upside down. He gave an exhausted sigh and inhaled deeply and exhaled. He'd only been a starship captain for a short, six months and he couldn't believe that he'd already dwelled in a dire situation that went beyond the training of a command track. Who knew being stuck in a coma in an alternate world was going to be one of his challenge. He shook his head and snorted. In the midst of a mild panic and a hint of fear of what's impending doom waiting for him, Jim Kirk snorted and then laughed.

There was nothing comical about being in a coma but he continued to laugh, feeling quite absurd about himself.

His chortled was cut short when he felt a firm hand grasping his left shoulder. He jolted and looked up instantly.

"Captain Ramsar?"

Surprised, Jim's eyebrow shot past his hairline. If there was a duel in the eyebrow department between him, Bones and Spock, he could have won easily.

He didn't anticipate in a million years to meet the captain of cargo vessel Alliance here in this weird world, especially when he popped out of nowhere in his coma.

Jim didn't know how many shocks he could endure in the next hours until his heart would probably gave away and stopped.

The older captain replied curtly, "Yes, Jim," and lifted his hand to shake Jim's.

Jim eyed him up and down incredulously. "Bullsh*t."


	10. Chapter 10

The older and the younger captain stared at each other for a moment in silence. Finally, Ramsar put his hand down by his side, figuring that Jim was in no mood for a quick handshake.

Jim stood up slowly, standing eye to eye with the other man who was about twenty five years older. "With all due respect, there's no point shaking hands. I'll show you why."

Jim demonstrated by walking through a wall. "See?"

"I'm not surprised."

"Oh. How can you-"

"Look, listen to me James. You need to know something."

"How can you see me and not the others?"

Ramsar shrugged.

"You know, if you really are Ramsar, prove it."

Ramsar sighed. He knew that this wasn't going to be easy.

"My name is Bolger Ramsar, captain of Federation cargo vessel Alliance for the last eleven years. About ninety-six hours ago, we were on the way to our next stop in Colony Three. We were in a tight schedule and had been expected to reach there earlier but there was a slight mishap with our engine that had delayed us for a few hours."

"The cargo that we carried for Colony Three was needed quite urgently so we tried to contact them about the unavoidable delay. Regrettably, another problem arose. Our subspace transmission failed to reach them."

"One of my officer informed me that the Enterprise was nearby so I decided to contact your ship to relay my message."

Ramsar continued," Your communicating officer, Lt. Uhura informed us that she managed to send a subspace transmission to Colony Three on behalf of us."

Jim nodded. He remembered that piece of information, given to him by Uhura a few minutes before he finished his gamma shift.

Ramsar knew he had to keep going. He had not much time left.

"You must wonder how and why I am here with you."

Another nod from Jim.

Ramsar moved towards the bed where the body of a comatose James T. Kirk laid. He looked at the sickly man, lying motionless on the soft sheet and then turned to face the other one who was standing tall with folded arms, blue eyes staring back at him, dead serious.

"Approximately two minutes after our contact with your ship, there was a flash of light in our bridge . A bright, floating entity emerged, circling it. For a moment I thought, it was harmless. Suddenly, it twirled madly and started knocking down my crew with some kind of unknown force. Some of them fell unconscious. One of my officers who weren't hurt started transmitting an emergency signal to your ship but it was blocked. The entity then headed straight towards me and in a blink of an eye, it took me away from my vessel."

"When I opened my eyes, I had to shut them quickly as it was too bright, you now, like when you have three, huge spotlights shining straight at you." Ramsar explained with his hands moving animatedly.

"Everything around me was white. I was standing alone in a very wide-open space with nothing but whiteness and a bright light. It was also cold. I thought I was dead." Ramsar swallowed.

"Suddenly, a soft voice started whispering to me. Telling me that I'm there for a reason. To be helped. The voice started to grow louder and louder, explaining my personal history, where I'm born, my childhood and adulthood, everything. I don't know how it knew all that. I tried to block my mind to protect any extraction of Federation's sensitive information but it was still capable to read my mind. There's no logical explanation to it at all. It just…it just didn't make sense!"

Ramsar gave a nervous laugh. He started to look around him anxiously. His calmness when he first met Jim slowly dissipated.

"Oh, God! He's coming for me," he said agitatedly. His demeanor changed suddenly.

"Who is coming for you, Ramsar?" Jim asked.

"Who is he?" he reiterated, this time with a stern voice.

"I've made a deal with the devil, James." Ramsar said in distress.

"I, I just wanted to see my wife and kids again. They'd died in a tragic accident years ago and I had missed them so much. I think about them everyday. The light brought me to see this thing, a creature that looked like a man. He spoke to me kindly and showed me a strong empathy. He promised me a chance to see my family again, Jim."

"The last two days were the best days of my life. I spent every single minute with my wife, Martha and my kids, Randy and Jean. Unfortunately, I was tricked. It wasn't a permanent deal. The man was not a saint. I was tricked by the damn devil! He had wanted something from me all along, my crews' soul. He feeds on them to live. I disagreed so he took my wife and kids away. I lost my family again. It was so painful." Ramsar's clenched the bed's railing until his knuckles were white. He was distraught.

"He threatened to kill my crew, all twenty of them. I said that I don't believe him and then he took me back to my ship and started killing them. I just stood there helpless. I've lost my entire crew and it's all my fault!" the hysteric Ramsar shook Jim's shoulders frantically.

"Ramsar, look at me. Hey, look at me." Jim pulled Ramsar's face in his hand to help him focus.

"Do you know anything about my ship, about my crew?" Jim couldn't forgive himself if anything happened to his loyal crew.

Ramsar shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Jim. I didn't mean for this thing to happen to you too. He must have known that your ship was within the vicinity. He told me that he's going to get a bigger catch."

"You still have time, Jim. Save yourself. Save your ship!" With that one final word, Ramsar's body was instantaneously pulled away from Jim's grasp by a force and pushed hard towards the glass window of the room.

Jim ducked behind the bed and covered himself, expecting the glass to break into large and tiny pieces with a loud clashing noise. But nothing happened. He peeked and saw that Captain Ramsar was gone without a trace. The only thing that he could hear was the beeping and hissing of the life support machine.

* * *

Jim couldn't wait in the room any longer. He walked through the door and then hastily strode along the hospital corridor, passing by a few nurses and doctors who worked the graveyard shift. Nobody paid attention to him as he was invisible to the naked eyes. His heart thumped loudly and fast and his palms were clammy. He needed to do something.

It didn't take him long to find Uhura, Winona and George sitting and waiting at the ICU's visitors lounge. He looked at them through the glass wall.

Uhura's eyes were puffy and her face glistened with freshly shed tears. She just sat there on a chair beside George, looking down solemnly. Winona still had tears pouring down her face, her eyes bloodshot and glassy. Her body jerked occasionally as she sobbed. George just looked ten times older, his eyes were also red and glassy and he held the two women close together.

The same oncologist that was with Jim previously approached them slowly, shaking their hands. Nurse Chapel was with him too, holding a small, brown envelope. The doctor start talking to the Kirks so Jim decided to walk through the glass door to listen.

"I know Dr. M'Benga had explained a few things about Jim just now but I'm here if you want to ask further questions."

"No, doctor. Thank you for your concern. We are clear about his current prognosis. We just wanted to see him. Can we see him, please?" Winona pleaded between sobs.

"Of, course. Right this way." Jim followed them.

* * *

They stayed with Jim for hours, waiting for any sign of a miracle. After a moment passed, George asked Winona to get him some coffee. As Winona left the room, Uhura got up too and followed her.

George pulled his chair nearer to Jim's bedside, his elbows on the bed, leaning. He stroke Jim's head gently and then held his lifeless hand to his fore head. Alone with his only son, George started to cry like a baby, his broad back shuddered.

Jim's eyes started to well up too; unable to hold his sadness looking at the man he wished to be his own real father displaying an intense emotional despair at his comatose son.

He put his hands on George's shoulder to comfort him but as he predicted, they just went through him.

George laid Jim's hand back on the bed gently. He took out a crumpled, sealed envelope from his side pocket. Inside the envelope was a letter, hand written by Jim when he was eighteen years old.

George opened the folded paper carefully and started reading it softly.

_Dear Dad,_

_I figure that by the time you're reading this, I'm lying sick on a hospital bed again._

_I'm sorry I kept this letter a secret with Christine. I hope she had given it to you discreetly because the last thing I want to do is to hurt mum's feeling and Sam's. _

_I'm grateful to God to be given a joyful life. My setback is nothing compare to a nation suffering from war or hunger._

_I love you, mum and Sam very, very much. Thank you so much for loving me and taking care of me. I know I can be a bit of a pain in the a** sometimes so I'm truly sorry._

_Tell Christine that I love her and I'll miss her. I hope she hasn't thrown away the plastic wedding ring that I gave her ten years ago!_

_Dad, I've been fighting this sickness for a while. This time, I think it's best to let me go. Let me sleep peacefully. _

_I'll miss you all dearly._

_Yours sincerely,_

_James T. Kirk_

_

* * *

_

George put the letter down and looked at the life support machine surrounding his son. He then kissed the young man's forehead. Tears flowing rapidly, they trickled onto his son's face.

George stood slowly and brought a shaky hand towards a button controlling his son's respirator. He was hesitant.

"_No, dad. No! I didn't write that letter. I only met you two days ago. Please!" _

Jim shouted on top of his lungs. There was nothing that he could do. George couldn't hear him at all. He pressed the button and everything stopped.

"_Nooooo!"_

Jim felt that he was being pulled away, the image of the room became smaller and smaller, fading gradually. He sensed a feeling of weightlessness, floating, peace. His body immersed in a tunnel of light. He closed his eyes.

* * *

"Welcome, welcome James!" A male voice boomed.

Jim woke up. He was in a wide-open space of whiteness, just like what Ramsar had experienced. He was sitting on the white floor, cold and slippery like marble. The place was freezing and he shivered, realizing that he was still wearing his thin hospital gown.

The voice spoke again, "Ah, I'm terribly sorry. What an ungracious host I am. Here, help yourself. A gift from me."

Starfleet's golden colored duty uniform shirt together with a black undershirt, pants and boots magically appeared beside Jim.

"Go on, Jim. I won't look." The voice chuckled.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Jim enquired while trying as discreet as possible to change into the clothes. It was too cold not to accept.

The voice ignored Jim's question but instead asked, " So, what do you think of meeting your father again?"

"What kind of a sick joke you're playing?"

"Now, now. Don't be a rude guest."

"What have you done to Ramsar and his crew? What have you done to mine?"

The voice laughed loudly, the sound echoed throughout the space. Jim had to close his ears.

"Ramsar…oh, that desperate old man. He dared to visit you, didn't he, telling you all those little white lies about me. Well, I'm sorry to say that he is dead, kaput, gone."

"I'm still not sure what to do with you and your crew though. Hmm…"

"Coward! Show yourself. Where are you?" The voice was starting to annoy the hell out of Jim.

A tap on his back-

"Hi." Jim turned quickly. He was looking at George Kirk.

"What the-?"

"Oh, you don't like this. Okay, okay, I'll change."

"Tadaaa!"

Now it morphed into Winona.

"Stop playing games with me!" Jim exclaimed with fury.

"You're so picky, aren't you, James." It changed into it's true form, a glistening bright light in a shape of a man but taller than Jim. It had a long and a hollow face with a small nose and pointed ears.

Jim launched himself at it but he just went through it and fell face first to the floor.

"Didn't your mother tell you to watch before you leap, James?" it mocked.

"What do you want from me?" Jim growled, pushing himself up, breathing hard trying to suppress his anger.

"I'm here to collect, James. I gave you the chance to live your dreams with your father, that's a huge favor from me, so now you owe me one," it said, circling Jim playfully.

"I didn't ask you to give me any favor. You had kidnapped my lieutenant and me and killed Ramsar and his crew. Under Federation law-"

"I don't care about the Federations!" It roared, its features now turning into fiery red. Jim could feel the heat coming out from it. He moved back a few steps but it followed him on each.

"Have you heard the myth about an eerie being collecting souls from a travelling crew ship?"

"No." Jim answered truthfully.

"Well now you do." The fiery red now turned to soft white as its anger subsided. It chuckled.

"Leave my ship and my crew alone," Jim said slowly and sternly.

"What do you want in exchange?" Jim knew bargaining with this creature was dangerous but he had to take his chance.

It put its long, spidery fingers on its chin, pretending to think.

"Hmm. I'm feeling a bit bored today, James so why not we have a little game and if you win, your crew will be safe. Everything will be back to normal. If I win-"

"How will I know that you're telling the truth?"

"You don't seem to have other choice, James," it mocked him again.

Jim stared at the creature with full determination, his fists clenched tightly. "Let's do it."

* * *

_**Authors note : **Reviews are welcome._


	11. Chapter 11

_Meanwhile, back in the alternate world..._

Uhura and Winona were heading back to Jim's room when they heard the alarm.

"Code blue room 103, repeat, code blue room 103."

A team of medics rushed past them.

"Jim." Uhura sprinted trying to catch up, dragging Winona with her. The coffee that Winona carried spilled onto her dress.

They reached the unit immediately and saw the commotion that had already begun, each of the doctors and nurses trying to revive Jim back to life.

"No, please stop." George said to one of them. He put his hand on the male physician's shoulder. "Please," he begged softly and showed M'Benga the letter. The other medics paused and waited for M'Benga's further instruction.

"What are you doing? Don't stop. Don't stop!" Winona shouted frantically.

"What are you thinking, George? What are you doing to him? You're killing our son!" she pointed accusingly to George.

Uhura just stood there, still shocked.

George pulled his wife closed to him and hushed her as she struggled to get free. "Let me go!" she screamed, crying hysterically. George hugged her tighter and muffled her cries.

M'Benga read the letter out loud and then shook his head at each of his medical team. "I'm sorry." He sighed and looked at the monitor screen, "Time of death 0400."

Winona sobbed emotionally and slipped from George's grip. She walked towards Jim's body, staggering as she got nearer. She supported herself on the bed's railing. The medics moved to give her space.

She stroked Jim's pale face and whispered, "Goodbye my child. Sleep tight."

Uhura's mind was numbed. The death of her captain was implausible. She was in pure denial. _"__I'm dreaming. This is all a dream," _she told herself over and over again. She didn't notice a gleam of light creeping from behind, encircling her legs and moved up to her neck. Before she could react, she was engulfed by the same bright glow that previously took her away from the ship and they vanished together.

* * *

Uhura was suddenly back on the Enterprise in the middle of the bridge, standing right beside the captain's chair.

The crew gasped in surprised. All eyes were on her. Uhura turned around slowly and stared at them one by one. Her legs suddenly felt like jelly and she collapsed but Spock was there to catch her on time before she hit her head on the floor.

"Nyota," he murmured. Spock cradled her in his arms.

Dr. McCoy was already beside her, scanning for any injury. Uhura pushed the good doctor's hand away. "I'm fine."

Uhura's exhausted face snuggled deeper into Spock's embraced. Letting go of her emotional roller coster in the last few days, she broke down in tears, "Jim's dead, Spock. He's dead."

* * *

Jim found himself suddenly standing in a dark, dirty and long alleyway. The sound of dogs barking could be heard faintly. The two buildings in between the alley were old, dingy and uninviting. The only source of light along the never-ending narrow passage was a few lamps, flickering intermittently like they're about to die soon.

He wondered what kind of games the alien was planning on him.

Jim walked forward slowly and carefully in the near darkness, turning his head promptly at the slightest sound. He was weaponless. He could feel his heart palpating against his black undershirt.

The sound of footsteps behind him made him turned. He saw a figure, a burly man in a jacket and a hat. He squinted to see the face in the dark but he couldn't. Jim kept walking, ignoring the figure and hastened his pace but the man quickened his stride. The next thing he knew, Jim was running as fast as he could and the man was chasing him, his hat flew off as he sprinted.

The man was faster and taller than Jim. As he got nearer and nearer, he reached out his long arm and snatched Jim's golden shirt, tearing it and grabbing Jim with his other arm. Jim nearly fell but managed to hold to the figure's arm for support. The man lost his balance so they both stumbled and fell on top of each other.

Jim was quick to recover and sat on top of the guy, jamming him to the ground. He could see the man's face. "Finnegan?"

"Aye." The man resembled Finnegan, an upperclassman that had enjoyed tormenting Kirk mercilessly during his academy days.

Distracted, Jim didn't have time to duck a blow to his jaw from the guy. He fell and rolled to the ground. "Ow!"

Finnegan pushed himself up. "You're a sissy little girl, you know that, Jim." He kicked him on the stomach and Jim moaned in pain.

"Now stand up and fight like a man," he spat.

It took a few moment before Jim was able to stand up, slightly woozy, but he didn't show any sign of retreating. He moved in on Finnegan. "You ask for it," he snarled.

He screamed and bolted towards the bigger man and swung his right fist but Finnegan was able to catch him. Swiftly, he changed tactic and snaked in a left hand blow instead to Finnegan's belly. Caught off guard, Finnegan doubled over in pain. "You bastard!"

Jim took this chance to punch Finnegan twice on his face, breaking his nose with a crunching noise.

"Argh!" he cried out, his hand instantly pressing on his broken nose, trying to stop the oozing blood.

Jim didn't stop. His rage overpowered him and he gave Finnegan a short hook to his head. Finnegan fell to ground with a thump, his forehead bleeding.

He lifted his hands up feebly, "Okay…okay. You win," he said breathlessly.

Jim stood above him and demanded, "Return everything back to normal. Let my crew go. Return everything back to normal, the Alliance, Captain Ramsar."

"Why not…why not I give you a better deal, huh?" still a little bit breathless, Finnegan pointed a finger.

"I let you stay with your father and your happy family in the _other world_ and you give me your crew." Finnegan pushed himself up to sit and spat out blood and grinned.

Jim lost his patience, got down and strangled the injured man, pushing him back down to the ground. "My ship. Everyone. Now. Return everything back to normal. Do it!"

In the midst of his fury and anger, Jim didn't notice Finnegan sliding out a knife from his pocket. He swung and plunged the knife deep and twisted it into Jim's side.

In a slow motion, Jim let go of the bigger man and clutched his bleeding wound. He pressed it hard, trying to stop the red ooze. It gradually seeped through his golden shirt, the stain enlarged as seconds past. The figure morphed from Finnegan into its original alienated man-shaped form.

He tilted his head and looked at Jim who was writhing in pain, blood pooling under him.

He cupped Jim's face and spoke tenderly, "Give it up, James. You're dying."

Jim coughed out blood and wheezed. "Yeah? Tell me something I don't know."

"Let us start over. Make a new deal."

"Go to hell."

"I can heal you."

"I don't care. You promised. Let my crew go. Just take me." Jim struggled to stay awake. He was losing too much blood.

"I have never met a human species like you, James. I always think that your specimens have shockingly limited intelligence, easy to be bait and have primitive fear threat reaction. Sacrificing oneself for the life of others that you don't know is very noble. I'm impressed."

"So take my 'noble' soul, then. I bet that you won't be hungry for million of years to come." Jim coughed again. He was in the verge of passing out. _Damn alien!_

The creature laughed. "I sometimes fail to understand the complexities of a human antic but I am totally blown away by your bravery. You're one of a kind."

He brought his glowing hand to Jim's forehead. "Farewell, James. I'm utterly sorry for the inconvenience and I hope I won't cross path with you again in the future."

Jim felt the floating sensation again. He shut his eyes and relaxed when the pain in his side easing away. A sudden white light consumed his body and the next thing he knew he was gone from the alley.

* * *

_Beep...beep...beep_

The familiar smell and sound of the Enterprise sickbay entered Jim's mind. He blinked.

He'd returned to the Enterprise in one piece, well, almost. If not for Dr. McCoy's quick action and superior surgical skill, Jim would have died of hemorrhage.

"He's coming to..."

Jim heard Uhura's voice and he was relieved. He was worried about her.

"Good, you're awake, kid." Bones said, hovering around his peripheral vision.

Uhura held Jim's hand tight. "We nearly lost you, captain."

Jim cleared his dry throat. "I have nine lives," he said hoarsely.

"Don't be so pompous. You're down to five now."

"I miss you too, Bones," Jim winked at the good doctor, smirking. Bones smiled and patted Jim's shoulder.

He examined Jim's wound on his abdomen.

"Can I get a glass of water or something?" Jim pointed to his throat weakly and swallowed.

"I'm sorry, Jim. You're gonna be NPO for the next day."

"Ugh. Bones-"

"Stop whining. I'm in charge in this sickbay and you just gotta listen to me."

Bones purposely palpated Jim's abdomen a bit deeper.

"Ow!"

'Don't be an infant."

Bones was back to his grouchy self. Satisfied with the healing surgical wound on Jim's flank, he mumbled something incoherent and left Uhura and Jim alone.

Uhura broke their silence.

"Spock is at the bridge, Jim. The ship is running normally and we're back on our course. A full report from Spock and me has been sent to Starfleet. They're waiting for yours, when you're better." Jim nodded.

"How are you, Uhura?"

"I'm fine, Jim. It's you that I'm worried about."

Jim grasped Uhura's hand. "I'm okay."

"Did anything happen to the ship? Any casualties?"

"When we were trapped in that world, the ship was being taken over by an unknown entity, projecting like a group of cloud but no damaged was being done. It only interfered and blocked our signals and transmission temporarily. Casualty-well, only one, sir," Uhura paused, "You."

"Oh." _No wonder Bones was so cranky._

"Do you know anything about cargo vessel Alliance? Any further contact with them?"Jim asked anxiously.

Uhura shifted. "I'm surprised that you asked. I was about to inform you about their message later, when you're feeling much better."

Jim propped himself up slowly.

"They informed us that Captain Ramsar would like to thank you for your assistance. He had left you a personal subspace message. I can transfer it to you later, Jim."

_So everything is fine. Everything is back to normal._

"Captain Ramsar had passed away minutes after our first contact with Alliance. He left the message to you prior to his unknown cause of death. I'm sorry, Jim."

_Ramsar was right. Don't trust that creature._

Jim closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He sighed. "Thanks, Uhura."

"I'm glad that everybody else is ok. I'm glad that you are ok."

Uhura nodded.

Seeing that Jim was exhausted, Uhura made an excuse to leave him to rest.

"I'll see you around, Jim," she smiled.

Jim returned the smile. "I'll see you around, _Sam._"

Uhura turned and smiled.

__


	12. Chapter 12

EPILOGUE

* * *

A lone figure sat quietly in the captain's ready room. The room itself was semi-dark. The young man in the chair preferred it to be that way for the moment. He sighed, obviously exhausted and closed his eyes momentarily, a mild headache creeping gradually around his temples. He swallowed and tried to ignore it, adjusting his sitting position and took a glass of water on his table and sip slowly. His index finger tapped the play button on the computer touch screen again, listening to the end of the final message from Captain Ramsar.

"Thank you, Jim for saving my crew and myself. Unfortunately, I had an irreversible deal with the alien. There's nothing you can do to stop it. He's too powerful. By the time I end this message, he will come to collect me, as promised."

Jim gave an audible exhale,he propped his elbows on his desk and cupped his head, staring down in defeat.

_I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I can't help you._

Captain Ramsar paused and as if he knew what Jim was thinking he continued, "This is not your fault, Jim. All of this wouldn't have happened if I didn't fall into the creature's trap, of its promises of eternal happiness being with my family again. " Jim could hear the regret and sorrow in Ramsar's voice.

"But the damage is done. Farewell, Jim. You're a good man. There's no doubt that you'll make a remarkable history in Federation Starfleet. Don't let them do anything that take you off the bridge of your ship, because while you're there, you can make a difference."

"Take good care of your crew, Captain Kirk."

The message ended abruptly. Jim slumped back on his seat, staring at the ceiling.

He was immersed in his own thoughts that he didn't hear McCoy came into the room.

"Jim."

A concerned best friend came into view as Jim turned his chair.

"Hey, Bones. What's up?" he said softly, eyes red and tired. He knew that he wasn't supposed to be out of the sickbay yet and was sure that McCoy was there to drag him back accompanied with his expletive speech of why an unwell captain should listened to his CMO.

Instead, McCoy replied tenderly, "I'm just making sure you're alright."

"I'm fine."

McCoy nodded although he knew Jim lied. He just stood there in silence waiting for his good friend to open up.

"You know-"

Jim stood up slowly and staggered towards McCoy, ready to give up himself to the sickbay again. McCoy rushed to his friend and supported him in his arms.

"You know, the last few days were really confusing. There's this crazy, magical alien thing that takes souls to stay alive, attacked the Alliance and took me and Uhura into this crazy world where I met my _dead_ father and then _I died_ and then I've to fight that damn, weird creature and he stabbed me…" Jim rambled.

McCoy just listened and rubbed Jim's back in circular motion.

Blue eyes met hazel. "It's _crazy,__"_Jim blurted.

"I know, Jim. Uhura had told me everything."

Jim sighed for the tenth thousand times. "Uhura wasn't even supposed to be there with me. The only reason she was there was because she touched my shoulder when that light thing flashed madly and then we were both sucked into this…this tunnel of light." He gestured with his hand.

"But everything's over now, Jim. Everyone's safe. You don't have to worry anymore." McCoy tried to console his stressed friend.

"Not everyone Bones. Captain Ramsar from the Alliance vessel, he died because of that creature and I couldn't save him."

"I'm sorry, Jim but you can't save everyone."

"…"

"Jim?"

"Yeah…yeah, I know." He said in defeat.

"I'm just feeling a bit messed up, you know. I'll get over it." Jim looked at McCoy and gave a half-hearted smile. He motioned to McCoy to lead him back to the sick bay. Knowing Jim for nearly four years, McCoy knew that that's the signal that he didn't want to talk about the matter again. His 'opening up' time was now officially closed.

The ready room door swished close and the young captain and the good doctor walked side by side along the empty corridor. The doctor paced himself slower than usual, glancing at his best friend from time to time, making sure he was all right.

Out in the deep space, the majestic Enterprise continued her voyage of exploration and awaiting adventures and _to boldly go where no man has ever gone before…_


End file.
